January 2020 | Part 1

Pip Adoption Update

Greetings! We hope you enjoy following the care of Pip! Be sure to "Like" us on Facebook and Instagram for up-to-date news and events happening around the Center and Jekyll Island.  If you wish to update your email information, please reply to this message or send an email to  gstceducation@jekyllisland.com  using "Adopt-a-Sea Turtle" in the subject line.

Rehabilitation Update Antibiotics

To be sure that Pip is getting better, he/she gets regular veterinary exams from Dr. Norton

When Pip first arrived to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center in late September, he/she was weak, but with some regular meals and care we were hopeful the young turtle would grow into a healthy animal. However, a couple weeks after Pip's arrival we grew concerned when he/she started to eat meals inconsistently. We were unsure what was causing this to happen, so we began treating him/her with antibiotics. Each antibiotic medication targets different kinds of bacteria, and we wanted to provide Pip with medicine that would cover a broad spectrum of harmful bacteria. With this in mind, we decided to give Pip a combination of two antibiotics called amikacin and ampicillin. If you recognize the names of these medications that's because they are also used to treat humans, small animals, and livestock. Until the antibiotics took effect, Pip continued to inconsistently eat his/her food. To get Pip the nutrition he/she needed during that time, we had to drip feed him/her for a couple weeks. Drip feeding involves opening the patient's mouth and placing a small amount of fluid on the tongue. The fluid we gave to Pip was 5% dextrose Ringer's lactate solution (RLS). The dextrose in this mixture is sugar to help boost blood sugar levels. The RLS is a fluid and electrolyte replacement. In human medicine, RLS is also often used to replace fluids after someone has suffered excessive blood loss. Thankfully, the antibiotics seemed to help and Pip began to eat on his/her own after a couple weeks. At that point, we finished Pip's course of antibiotics and discontinued him/her from the medications in late October. Pip has continued to do well since the fall! Stay tuned to your email inbox for more updates on Pip's progress!

Education Connection History of the Jekyll Island Sea Turtle Project

When the Jekyll Island Sea Turtle Project began in the 1970s they took Polaroid photos of nesting sea turtles. Please note that flash photography of sea turtles is allowed by permit only.

The full history of the Jekyll Island Sea Turtle Project (JISTP) has a few blurred segments, but from what we know the first time a sea turtle was tagged on Jekyll Island was in 1958. This tag was not only the first one put in a Jekyll turtle, but it may have been one of the first ones to go in a turtle in Georgia and the United States! Although some sporadic research was done starting in the years following 1958, the JISTP did not begin regular monitoring efforts along Jekyll Island beaches until 1972. At that point, nightly patrols for nesting turtles occurred from June through August and were coordinated by the local Brunswick Junior College (now College of Coastal Georgia). In the 1970s, it was believed that most sea turtle nesting on Jekyll Island only took place on the southern end of the island; therefore, between 1972-1979, patrols only covered that segment of beach. It wasn't until 1980 that nightly patrols began surveying the entire beach for nesting sea turtles. It was not until the early 1990s that a morning patrol was added once per week. Finally, in 1996, teams began covering the beach every night and every morning. Night patrols focused on tagging and measuring nesting turtles; morning patrols were responsible for monitoring incubating sea turtle nests and inventorying them after they hatched. While morning patrols have occurred each year since 1996, there was a time between 2000-2006 that night patrols ceased. These resumed in 2007 when the Georgia Sea Turtle Center (GSTC) opened and assumed ownership of the JISTP. In 2009, the GSTC's AmeriCorps program began; ever since, the JISTP patrol team has been comprised of 6-10 AmeriCorps members and is often supplemented by help from volunteers and interns. In the history of the project we know that Jekyll Island's highest nesting total occurred in 2003 in which 204 nests were laid along the island's beaches. The following year also set a new record - the record low nesting number for Jekyll Island with just 25 nests laid on Jekyll. Although we have yet to break our record of 204 nests, we have come close a couple times in recent years. In 2012, Jekyll had 197 nests and just last summer we had 199 nests! As Georgia's loggerhead sea turtle nesting numbers continue to increase, we hope that a new record for Jekyll Island is on the horizon for the next few years! The JISTP's long history would not be possible without the help and funding from many organizations and agencies, including the Jekyll Island Authority, Georgia Department of Natural Resources, Brunswick Junior College/College of Coastal Georgia, Coastal Georgia Audubon Society, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Jekyll Island 4-H, the AmeriCorps program, and private donations. There is much more to the history of the JISTP. To read more about the project, click here .

Past Adoption Updates

Did you miss a previous update on Pip? Don't worry! You can read them all by clicking the links below. November 19, 2019 Meet Pip November 30, 2019 What Pip Eats December 15, 2019 Pip's Move to a Kiddie Pool December 30, 2019 Pip Dives Deeper

Crawl to the Finish: Turtle Crawl 2020

Registration for the 2020 Turtle Crawl races is now open! Join us on Jekyll Island March 14, 2020 to participate in the 5K, 10K, or beach fun run. Can't make it to Jekyll? No problem! Sign up as a ghost crawler and run from home while supporting the turtles! Proceeds from the races go back to the Georgia Sea Turtle Center to help us continue our mission of rehabilitation, research, and education. Click here to learn more about the races and register!

Please do not unsubscribe as this is the primary method of sharing the latest news about Pip's progress & future release information when it becomes available.   Donations from the Adopt-a-Sea Turtle program support the Georgia Sea Turtle Center's mission of rehabilitation, education, & research. The timeline for a patient's stay is always dependent on the turtle's health & response to care and cannot be guaranteed. As there are many environmental factors and permissions to consider when scheduling turtle releases; we do our best to share information as timely (efficiently) as possible. Our staff do their best to consider not only the turtle's health, but also our supporters like you!

Thank you for your support! Sincerely, The GSTC Education Department Georgia Sea Turtle Center 214 Stable Road Jekyll Island, GA 31527